Chapter 2: “This will hurt a bit”
Date: 04/01/3050
Time: Est. 0600hrs (Pre-dawn)
Weather: 36degrees F, winds at 5-10mph, Storm eminent
Location: Black Forest region, Planet Thule (LZ-01)
Beowulf, Sosuke, and the rest of the Alpha units had already met up with the Bravo units plus one irate Mimir “communications specialist”, who apparently did not like the four hour, ride black bagged, and gagged on top of a rather smelly native pack animal. At the landing zone Beowulf had tasked Sosuke with dispersing the Alpha units into defensive perimeter, while the Bravo units headed by Bruno Atindralerd. Beowulf had moved over to Bruno’s position. “How was your little asset extraction?” asked Beowulf hoisting some underbrush to get into a more concealed position. Bruno chuckled to himself splitting a ration bar and offering it to Beowulf “Well it was all fine and dandy with the exception of those **** sticks in the shiney new ‘mechs stomping around…oh and we had to pay off a village elder with one of our pack animals to keep ‘em quiet” added Bruno trailing off on the subject of paying the villager. Beowulf perked his ears for a second and glanced at Bruno before shrugging “Oh well…he’ll probably send you an invite to the wedding”. Bruno looked puzzled at Beowulf “I’m sure he’ll probably marry that pack critter and make an honest woman out of her haha!” laughed Beowulf slapping Bruno on the plate carrier.
Bruno is tall and slender, with dark features…even as scruffy as he is on this op he still looks like he walked off a military base. Bruno cuts up as much as any grunt, but he is at times too serious of a Kungsarme lifer. He had made it into SF selection, but had been cut due to a minor incident involving a senior officer and a half of a beer bottle…I’ll leave the final resting place of that bottle to your imagination. Due to his selection scores and his connections within Steiner, Mimir had saw fit to make his little “incident” go away and assign him to the Legion. Bruno was born and raised on the Lyran side of the Republic…hence his bouts of cursing in old Terran German. Beowulf trusted his judgment with the villager, he still did not like the loose ends involved in civilian contact.
A snapped twigged keyed everyone’s attention on the opposite side of the landing zone, “Eyes up” Beowulf whispered over the coms. As the Alpha and Bravo units readied themselves a figure staggered from the wood line into the clearing. A dirty and blood soaked Mechwarrior Kira Merzig walked to the center of the clearing, brandishing a combat knife. Kira shouted at the top of her lungs “I KNOW YOU ARE HERE COWARDS… I CHALLENGE YOUR COMMANDER TO A TRIAL”.
Sosuke piped in over coms “Wow, she’s as pissed as that big knockered crazy ass redhead back on Solaris that Beowulf fu….” “Shut it Sosuke!” Beowulf cut Sosuke off…trying not to remember the court orders and bad hang overs. “She must want a one on one fight…probably offended her getting knocked off her high horse” thought Beowulf as he scratched his beard.
Beowulf slung his carbine, stood up from his hide, and glanced back at Bruno “Cover me”. Bruno grabbed Beowulf’s plate carrier “Brother, we ain’t got time for this ****…just off the broad and let’s roll; our ride will be here in 5”. “Don’t worry about it Bruno, we can’t pass up a chance to gather a little intel on our new foe…besides she looks like a feisty one” grinned Beowulf as he walked out in front of the clan mechwarrior. Both stood motionless for a moment sizing each other up.
“Well doll face, how are we going to do this? Should I wine and dine you first? Or do you want to cut to the chase and head straight to my bunk for a better place to wrestle?” smirked Beowulf as he placed his carbine and plate carrier on the ground. Kira glared at Beowulf as she tossed her combat knife to the ground.
Kira clinched her fists and pointed at Beowulf “I will have my honor restored; I challenge you to a trial of possession. I win, I carry your head back to my commanders unopposed by your riff raff…you win I am your bondswoman”. Beowulf smugly began stretching “Whatever lady, I’ve only got one question…how far down do those cute little glowing tattoos run?”
Kira roared with anger as she leapt at Beowulf with a flying left cross, which he was able to parry and deliver a right palm heel to her right knee which was on a course directly for his sternum. Though Beowulf was physically much larger and stronger than the little female mechwarrior, she fought with speed and a fierceness rivaling an enraged wolverine. Kira attacked again and again, but Beowulf continued to move, counter, and parry her attacks. Finally Kira caught Beowulf playing with her and feinted another left cross. Beowulf looking to block this attack and the suspected right knee did not see Kira change her attack to a firmly planted left straight kick, which found it’s home directly in Beowulf’s groin. Beowulf lurched forward grimacing and groaning as Kira stepped into his patch delivering a spear hand to his throat, causing him to topple to the ground. “You EVIL wench” grunted Beowulf holding both his groin and his throat.
Beowulf rolled to his back in time to see Kira coming in to finish the job with an axe kick to his forehead. Beowulf rolled into the kick, taking a knee directly in front of Kira delivering a head butt to her lower abdomen, and spearing her to the ground. Kira had no time to react before Beowulf scrambled to a full mount position and delivering a single elbow to her forehead…knocking her out and breaking her nose in the process.
Beowulf’s men were silent for a moment until Sosuke blurted over the coms “DAAAAAAAMN”. “That’s some straight periphery courtship there boys” said Bruno while laughing. Beowulf stood slowly and limped over to his gear, still holding his groin. “Ugh…that’s gonna hurt in the morning” he said as he began clipping back into his plate carrier before limping back over to Bruno and collapsing against a tree. “Y’all gonna sit there and laugh or go cuff ‘n black bag our new guest?” said Beowulf as he pulled a small silver flask from his plate carrier and took a few sips of whiskey.
Just as Beowulf settled and the pain really started setting in the familiar high pitched whine of Vampire class drop ship engines broke the silence as Alpha 5 entered the landing zone touching down gently. Bruno helped Beowulf and all the Legionnaires began retreating to the rear hatch, where Beowulf’s XO, Joker, stood waiting. “What the hell happened to you Boss…another date?” laughed Joker as he hoisted Beowulf up on to the deck. “Oh **** off and leave my ex’s out of it…get Mimir Actual on the line, we’ve got our VIP plus someone else they’ll want to talk to” grunted Beowulf as flopped into his favorite jump seat and waited for take off.
Chapter 4: “This is a bad neighborhood”
Date: 04/16/3050
Time: 0230hrs GST
Weather: Heavy rain
Location: Commercial District Hrothgar City, Planet Skallevoll
It’s been thirty six hours since first contact with the Clan Wolf invaders and most of Skallebvoll’s defenders have wiped out. The Glory Warriors, a mercenary unit contracted by the Kungsarme was destroyed to the last man within the first hours…most of the 1st People’s Mechanized has been destroyed, surrendered, or fallen back to the evacuated city scape of Hrothgar. Vast stretches of Hrothgar was blacked out …the only light visible was from muzzle flashes, random fires, and the few odd street lamps still working. Corporal Kanen Jacobs, a young man barely in his twenties, was now the last mechwarrior defending this section of the city…his entire company was killed with callous ease by the invaders. Kanen sat alone in the cockpit of his Thunderbolt TDR-9SS, tortured by the screams of allied infantry being decimated on his sat coms across the city...growing ever close to his location.
Kanen fought hard to keep the systems of his battered ‘Mech operational that he barely noticed gaping wound in his left leg left by a clan ERPPC that nearly torn most of the ‘mechs left torso…ripping open his cockpit in the process. It was only when Kanen began to feel dizzy that he noticed the bright red pool of blood forming at his feet before tricking out of the torn open cockpit. He nearly lost himself staring at the puddle of his life’s blood before he snapped out of it scrambled to open his pilot’s first aid kit. Basic first aid training kicked in as Kanen pried open the kit with his teeth instinctually, knowing he was suffering from an arterial bleed, he jabbed the nozzle of a hemostatic foam canister into the wound and released its contents…filling the wound and buying him precious time to fight.
Breathing deeply Kanen readied himself for the surge of pain from the movement of his Thunderbolt righting itself from supine position amongst the rubble of a fallen building. The Thunderbolt ponderously steadied itself rising from the debris as if it was mimicking it’s master’s pain and discomfort. Kanen toggled the HUD off on his cockpit…it was hard enough to see through the broken glass and he knew that it would be little help to him now. “Looks like we’re pretty bad off old girl…you seem to be bleeding as bad as daddy” whispered Kanen looking at his ‘Mechs damaged systems…one more hit to her left torso and she was a goner. Just as Kanen righted his ‘mech he caught sight of five seismic signatures closing on his position.
Kanen caught himself staring at a now slightly charred picture of his three-year old daughter, Annabelle, for which his Thunderbolt shared the name…well she called it “Big Belle”. Feeling himself slipping from the reality that he was still in combat Kanen shook the fuzziness from the edges of his mind and gritted his teeth. “No! Daddy’s coming home baby girl…” said Kanen as he throttled up Big Belle away from the approaching signatures doing his best to keep buildings in between him and the approaching ‘mechs.
Big Belle’s sped away from original resting place at a respectable seventy kilometers an hour, though it was not fast enough to not be detected by lead pilot of the Clan Wolf heavy ‘mech star as he maneuvered his Timberwolf into a steadied position firing his ERPPC into Big Belle’s right leg. Big Belle lurched forward, spinning on her left leg letting loose two PPC’s of her own striking the Timberwolf’s missile pods. The lead Timberwolf’s allies rounded the corner and peppered Big Belle with sporadic fire. Kanen threw Big Belle’s controls to the right and limped her down an adjacent street, before finding cover in a large open industrial warehouse.
Big Belle’s cockpit filled with smoke, spark, and warning lights from the last barrage of clan weapon’s fire tearing through her armor. Kanen knew that the Clan Wolf pilots could have killed him on the last street; they were just playing with him…
Kanen switched his sensors to passive and watched his seismic display like a hawk. Large seismic signatures, he knew to be heavy battlemechs, began slowly appearing on his sensor screen encircling his position. “********…” Kanen spoke softly to himself racking his mind for some way to get out of this. Suddenly the silence was broken by a harsh voice over a loud speaker “Freebirth Rasalhague mechwarrior, this is Star Captain Uriel Shaw of Clan Wolf…I your will to survive intriguing and I here by claim you as bondsman, do not worry…I’m sure our laborer caste will make great use of you after some…minor re-education”. Uriel Shaw and his men could be heard laughing over their loudspeakers taunting Kanen who was now filled with rage. He had grown up under the boot hell of occupied Kurita space, lost his wife in a pirate raid, and would not see his daughter grow up subjugated by some new force wanting to take over his homeland…
Kanen’s coms crackled to life as a strangely calm voice spoke in off-world accent “Pilot of the Thunderbolt 9SS designated Big Belle, do you read? This is Sierra One…authorization Zulu Whiskey” Kanen clamored to hit the activation key for his headset “YES! YES I DO! WHO IS THIS?” “This is a friend...we’re aware of your situation can you move?” “No Sir, Big Belle is ****** up…and I’m surrounded!” silence again filled his Kanen’s cockpit.
“Corporal Kanen Jacobs... I see you have a daughter do you want to see her again or not?” asked the voice over coms sounding irritated. Kanen was taken back by the fact this stranger knew who he was, but that quickly went away as his mind flooded with images of his daughter. “What do I need to do sir?” asked Kanen meekly. “First I’m going to need you to hard the **** up and fight with whatever you have left. I’m sending you a route to your navigation computer…take it and haul ass…Sierra One out” Kanen took one last look at his daughter’s picture before letting the loudest battle roar he could muster and throttling up Big Belle one more time.
Big Belle crashed through the thin exterior wall of the warehouse, surprising that side’s defender, a Summoner which was unable to fire upon Big Belle as she made a break for the nearby alley. ERPPC and Ultra-autocannon fire ripped the buildings behind Big Belle as she made her escape nearly missing her by feet. Kanen prayed to whatever god was watching over him that day to just let him make it a few more blocks.
Kanen and Big Belle sped down alley as best as they could, crashing off of already damaged buildings like some drunk staggering home from an all- nighter. Kanen bounced back and forth in Belle’s cockpit as her stabilizers and gyros slowly ripped themselves apart from her labored movements. Kanen soothed his ailing ‘mech “C’mon baby you can do it for daddy…just one more block”.
Kanen felt a rush as he made one last turn in Big Belle on his rendezvous with salvation, he did not know if it was the adrenaline or the stimulants finally setting in from the hemostatic foam…but for the first time in hours he felt like he was going to live. Smiling Kanen keyed up his mic “Sierra One, I’m here awaiting pickup…Sierra One? Do you copy Sierra One?”, Relief and exhilaration turned quickly to dread as Kanen realized he had been led to a dead end street…surrounded on all sides by tall wrecked building set ablaze by war. The mixture of fog and smoke bathed the street in an eerie orange blow from the flames. “Hell…” was all Kanen could think of as soaked in his dire situation.
Before Corporal Kanen Jorge Jacobs could not even utter the curse that was forming on his lips he was rocketed forward by LBX20 autocannon shell striking Big Belle’s rear armor. Big Belle spun wildly to face her attackers, a quintuplet of clan heavy battlemechs…three Timberwolves, one Vulture, and one Summoner bringing up the rear of the formation. Kanen primed Big Belle’s PPCs and let loose a volley of its blue lightning, racking the bolts across the nose of the lead Timberwolf, who responded in kind with a shot from its LBX20. The scatter shot from the Timberwolf found its mark on Big Belle’s right torso and right arm away from her chassis.
Big Belle’s structure groaned like a dying animal that had given every last thing it had for its master. Kanen ignored the warnings to eject that Big Belle’s computers were screaming at him…he had already seen the damage done to the ejection seat from the first attack. Kanen steadied Big Belle to face their enemies standing tall as another LBX20 volley ripped away Big Belle’s left leg from the hip joint…sending her careening backwards into building directly behind her. Big Belle slid to the ground…Kanen was now barely conscious from the roller coaster ride from his pilot’s seat breaking free from its mounts.
Kanen struggled to right himself in the cockpit and opened his blood soaked eyes, looking for a familiar item to calm him. Kanen knew this was the end and he wanted the last thing he saw to be his daughter’s picture…but it was nowhere to before in this tangled mess of metal that used to be his cockpit. All the training…all the grand speeches he’d heard about this battle…none of them said a damn thing about losing the war or dying by yourself. “You did the best you could big girl…at least we’re together” coughed Kanen on his own blood as he started to lose consciousness again.
Kanen was jolted back to reality once more by the sound of ferro-fibrous armor being punctured slowly and then the ripple of unguided long range missile fire bouncing off the side of the buildings. Kanen ripped his nuerohelmet off and looked up in time to see his attackers spin in place to face their rear flank. Looking between the smoke covered timberwolves Kanen saw at the rear of their formation the Summoner standing awkwardly with its arms twitching…coolant trickling down to the street below it. Kanen’s eyes focused on the Summoner’s cockpit…now crushed and cleaved into by a large blade similar to a crude bowie knife protruding from the top. Gripping this weapon was huge spike knuckled hand attached to a dark figure…dwarfing the crippled Summoner it clutched from behind.
After what seemed an eternity the clan warriors finally reacted and fired upon their attacker. The light from the clanner’s muzzles lit up their assailant…a custom Atlas AS7-D(F), clad in ghostly white paint with a primitive one-eyed skull scrawled on its head, now spattered with the dark coolant of the Summoner . The frantic clan warriors fired their missiles wildly at the Atlas, who stood motionless, unharmed under its blanket of electronic counter measures. With a single red glowing eye the Atlas pushed aside the Summoner like a child with a play thing letting it topple to the ground.
The one-eyed Atlas unleashed an alpha-strike with its AC20 and four medium lasers, pummeling the nearest heavy mech a Vulture to the ground. Before the vulture could get itself completely upright the Atlas was on him…delivering a killing blow with its knife directly to the ‘mechs cockpit. The one-eyed Atlas stood and opened with twin volleys of LRM 15’s on the remaining ‘mechs. Before the shock of watching the compatriots slaughtered at the hands of this beastly apparition, three of the burning buildings surrounding the clan warriors erupted in a plume of flame and debris revealing two more black Atlas AS7-DDC’s charging at them in close range.
The first Timberwolf was felled in seconds as the Atlas closest to it poured all of it’s weaponry into the upper torso peeling back its armor and revealing its engine housing…a juicy target for the spiked fist of this Atlas. Kanen could see that the other three Atlas were slightly different than the one-eyed older Atlas in the back. This one was marked with “Dirty” on one arm, “Sanchez” on the other, with and some weird old Terran gang text across it’s chest saying “Pestilencia”.
The second Timberwolf faired no better; however it did strike the third Atlas. Seemingly enraged by being hit this Atlas, marked by a deranged smiley face and the moniker “Krieg” on its shoulder next to a Joker logo, lunged toward the Timberwolf grasping it by the missiles racks and driving it the ground. Once toppled to the ground the Joker Atlas hoisted its right leg and crushed the Timberwolf’s cockpit into the ground…it’s legs twitched feebly like chicken separated from its head.
The remaining Timberwolf, piloted by none other than Star Captain Uriel Shaw himself, blazed away at the three Atlases before him bellowing a war cry of Clan Wolf. Intent on the targets ahead of him the grizzled Star Captain did not notice the fourth Atlas appear behind him. This Atlas bore a very intricately carved skull on its head with two glowing red eyes. The Death Atlas struck the remaining Timberwolf in its left rear torso with a well-placed AC20 round, ripping away its missile pod and disabling it’s left arm, spinning the ‘mech around to face time as he delivered a haymaker to the side of its cockpit…undoubtedly battering its pilot within. Star Captain Shaw with all his clan breeding and training was still too slow to react to what came next. ..
The one-eyed Atlas had crept close enough to swipe at the Timberwolf’s right leg with its blade, severing the leg at the knee joint. Star Captain Shaw toppled to the ground, still firing and cursing at his attackers. The Joker and Pestilencia Atlases opened up on the remaining Timberwolf rendering it mostly weaponless except for its medium lasers.
Over open coms a voice Kanen recognized as Sierra One addressed Star Captain Shaw “Clan Wolf mechwarrior…you are beaten and you’re men are dead…Surrender now”. Star Captain Shaw spat and cursed over coms to his attackers “You honor less Inner Sphere Freebirth scum! Kerensky’s children will convert or destroy you…it’s only a matter of time”. Sierra One laughed “You got the FREE part right test tube baby”. Star Captain Shaw hoisted his injured Timberwolf up firing his medium lasers at the one-eyed Atlas barely scratching it’s heavy armor. The Death Atlas stepped around its compatriot and fired a single AC20 round into the Timberwolf’s center torso…ripping the cockpit and center torso leaving a cavernous crater where the cockpit once sat and a generous spatter of pilot along with debris across the ground where the Timberwolf fell once more.
The last thing Kanen remembered was the four Atlases turning to look at him and the sickly feeling of shock setting in before he passed out…
Kanen was in the deepest sleep of his life, he felt like he was at the bottom of a pool…only there was a beautiful voice speaking to him and every time she spoke it brought him closer to the surface “Corporal Jacobs…Corporal Kanen Jacobs wake up”. Kanen struggled to open his good eye and saw a tall, blond haired, blue eyed, woman peering down at him wearing field scrubs, and the name tape “Captain Gretchen Isledor”. Kanen struggled to ask where he was before Gretchen rested her hand on Kanen’s forehead and said “You’re safe Corporal…you two are on Orestes in a refugee camp outside of the capitol, you’ve been in a medically induced coma for a month”. Kanen looked puzzled at Gretchen, who fought to hide a sheepish grin before his hospital ward burst with noise “DADDY!” Kanen sat straight up in bed in time to have his little daughter Anna Belle dive on his lap. He didn’t care that she dove straight onto his stitches Kanen was just happy to see his little girl again. Wiping tears away from his un-bandaged eye Kanen asked Belle “How’d you get here sweetie”.
Anna Belle Jacobs hugged her daddy tightly while clutching a teddy bear “I was at school when the bad men came to take us and then these other bad men came. The other bad men told us the ones that tried to take us away were taking naps…then they took us to this place and then the tall one with no hair gave me candy and Mr. Teddy!...they were scary, but I think they are nice” blurted little Anna Belle at the end. Kanen looked closely at the teddy bear saw a small burned picture pinned to his chest…it was the picture of Anna Belle from Big Belle’s cockpit. Kanen smiled lying back in his bed with daughter, Anna Belle poked her father in the ribs “OH! Daddy…I forgots. The big scary man said I was your boss and that you had to stay here with me!”
Kanen smiled again and saluted his giggling child “Yes ma’am”.
Sosuke's notes:
Date 04/16/3050
Time of Entry 2345 Hrs Planet Skallevoll Capitol time.
Thanks to Jefe's pet clanner's information on their Cellbregan? Sellgreggin? "Zellbrigen" (she reminds me, though I think I'll keep mispronouncing any clanner word to piss her off) anyways, getting our forces on and off planet couldn't be easier as the Tubies don't seem to target civilian targets or infrastructure. With all the civilians jumping on any shuttle or garbage disposal ship space worthy to evac this sinking ship our dropship was easily hidden in the masses.
Course that tactic prompted many expletives and slights on my honor from the pet clanner for coming up with that idea.
The guys have been racking up a decent kill count on these clanner ******** but our dirty tricks will only work so long. We've been lucky most of our fighting has been up close where we can eliminate the advantage of their shiny guns. We're gonna have to get creative to take these guys in the open. This planet is already lost so I don't see us putting to much more effort into the defense. The local defense forces, what's left of them anyways pulled back to cover the spaceports for the evac. Word has it the government here is planning on accepting the Wolf terms of surrender.
(Reminder, look into the practicality of digging spider traps for our mechs and tanks)
Funny side note. While going over after action reports in the pilot quarters of the drop ship I was broken from my work by an abnormal amount of cursing coming from Jefe's office (even for him). I run in to find him picking himself up off the floor. I thought his clanner pet kicked his ass again but I didn't see anyone else in the hall way or in the office. Then I saw his desk chair still spinning. Would've helped Jefe up but I was way to busy laughing to be of any use.
All these years we've been fighting, close calls on the battle field and a damn office chair almost takes out the boss. Ha! turns out he even got himself a mild concussion according to the sick bay doc.
Someone may have painted a Chair+Floor=Skull somewhere on Beowulf's mech.
[end of entry]
Chapter 5: “Watch for falling prices”
Date: 07/04/3050
Time: 0400hrs GST
Weather: Clear
Location: Upper Stratosphere/High above the Skonnsen mountain range. Planet Harvest.
Eight warriors sat quietly in the dark troop compartment of the Vampire dropship, each a battle hardened Legionnaire wearing customized Nighthawk PA(L)s armor, carrying enough ammunition, food, water, and equipment to survive for several days planet side without resupply. Beowulf navigated his HUD using his eyes and chin controls, accessing his commander’s display before going over his team’s armor diagnostics. Grimacing at small blinking light hovering above Sosuke’s icon he leaned over to address his comrade “Sosuke, check ‘yer ****…your ‘chute looks jacked”. “Ci Senior Heffe!” responded Sosuke sarcastically opening his visor to examine his front mounted parachute with his own eyes…satisfied with the result he looked back to Beowulf giving a thumbs up. Beowulf returned to his pre-op checks...dwelling again on the intercepted HPG message from Harvest laying out all defenses and radio frequencies to Clan Wolf.
The defenders of Harvest would have no chance against the Clan Wolf invaders now, but this mission has a more personal note for Beowulf and the rest of the Legionnaires onboard this dropship…one of their last allies, Overste Kinson commanded the defenders and was now fighting a pitched battle in the mountain range bellow them. If there is one thing a Legionnaire does he takes care of his own...
The silence is broken by the familiar voice of Alpha 5, or Jorge Vanir the Vampire’s pilot, coming across the intercom, “4 minutes to drop zone boss”. Beowulf rolled his shoulders in the ill-fitting PA(L) suit, it’s myomer bundles mimicking his movements as he tightened his jump harness “Alright girls…visors down, o2 on, and get your ******’ heads in the game…we’re about to take the express elevator down”. Bruno chuckled a bit while sliding his skull shaped helmet on it to match the rest of the Legionnaires “What’s the matter boss? You’re little clanner pet start cooking those healthy high protein clanner meals for ya?” Beowulf smiled inside his own skull helmet in response “Bruno you can kiss the hairiest part of sweaty ass”. Bruno and Beowulf both busted out in a hearty laughter as the rest of Legionnaires joined in.
The Vampire dropship shuttered and bucked from a close proximity explosion, jolting it’s crew with bone jarring force. Red lights bathed the troop compartment as Jorge blared across the intercom “WE’VE GOT WOLF AEROSPACE FIGHTERS ON OUR ASS! HANG ON!”. “****!” shouted Joker as he grasped his armor’s restraints in an effort to fight the growing g-forces. “God damn it! Get off my ass you persistent ********! Hold on boys I’m gonna do some crazy **** here!” Jorge bellowed on the intercoms. Ultra-Autocannon 20 fire ripped through the troop compartment of the Vampire dropship narrowly missing the Legionnaires leaving fist sized holes which began venting atmosphere from the ship.
Beowulf forced his head up against the G-forces to take a look at his team to make sure they were still good…Draco’s head was down and his arms swung limply in front of his harness. “****! Draco is down…Sosuke check him!” grunted Beowulf. Sosuke struggled against the increased swirling gravity in the troop compartment, doing his best to pat down Draco and assess what had put him out…before tugging on his armored suit’s air lines. “Heffe, his air line has been cut by shrapnel…I’m patching it!” shouted Sosuke over the coms while trying to patch the stricken Legionnaire’s air line with some rigger’s tape.
The cockpit of the Vampire was filled with smoke and sparks as Jorge fought furiously against the controls of his ship in a spiraling free fall chased by the Clan Wolf Xerxes heavy aerospace fighter. Ultra-Autocannon 20 and large laser fire ripped passed the Vampire’s cockpit as Jorge yanked hard on the controls, pulling the Vampire’s nose out of the dive letting her pursuer pass by at lightning speed. Jorge, now soaked in sweat, winced at the near miss before activating his twin ERPPC’s and delivering a direct hit to the clan Xerxes fighter’s engines…destroying the fighter in a bright flash of fire and blue lightning. “WOOOOO HOOOO! SPLASH ONE TEST TUBE PUPPY!” yelled Jorge in pure excitement. His relief short lived as Jorge was alerted to the three more perusing aerospace fighter by the Vampire’s on board sensors as he whispered curse “Damn you…”.
Chapter 5: “Watch for falling prices” Cont.
Date: 07/04/3050
Time: 0403hrs GST
Weather: Clear
Location: Upper Stratosphere/High above the Skonnsen mountain range. Planet Harvest.
“****” Bruno cursed as an Ultra-AC20 round pierced the hull in front of his feet. Things on this drop could be worse, looking at all Legionnaires on the bird with him Bruno's heads up display informed him of each of their statuses, as his head came across Draco red warning lights flashed and informed him of a “air line critical FAILURE” before he could say anything Sosuke had already begun to wrap his air line with tape. Beowulf stood and made his way to Draco, where he and Sosuke began disconnecting Draco's chute and then began the process of hooking him into Beowulf's harness. Looking at his chrono Bruno grimaced, they were still 20 minutes from their target DZ and the way that the bird was flying she wasn’t going to be in the air long. Bruno keyed the mic for the pilot “ Jorge we aren’t going to get any closer, give me 5 more minutes to get these guys stood up and hit me with green light.” “roger that I'll try but we have at least 3 more bogeys coming in hot and they don’t like what I did to their friend back there”. Bruno twisted the knob on his suicide harness and dropped to the deck. The magnetic claps in his boots activated and rooted him to the ground as the fibro muscles in the suit attempted to compensate for the shifting Gs, unsuccessfully. Bruno had lost count of the number of combat drops he had been apart of, but he was sure this was the worst.
Working his way to the side door Bruno turned to face the rest of the drop team turning his helmet mic on its loudest setting. “5 minutes!” every one else echoed the command, by this time Beowulf, his safety, had joined him by the door. “GET READY!” the Legionnaire passed the command. “IN BOARD PERSONNEL STAND UP!” as soon as the command was echoed the Legionnaires to Bruno left stood up and faced him. “OUT BOARD PERSONNEL STAND UP!” the men to his right stood up and faced him. “HOOK UP!” all the Legionnaires hooked to the static line cable. “Check static lines!” the Legionnaires traced the static lines in front of them insuring they had a 4 inches in the hand and 4 inches above for the safety. “Check equipment!” all the Legionnaires, to include Bruno, checked to insure that the drop shoot was attached and secured correctly “check equipment!” the Legionnaires checked the equipment tied down to their armor “SOUND OFF FOR EQUIPMENT CHECK!” each Legionnaire smacked the one in front of him until Bruno yelled “STAND BY!” turning to the drop door Bruno smashed the release button with a clenched fist, air rushed in to the bird, bringing a chill into the very armor itself. The only light was coming from the red light mounted next to the door. Looking out side Bruno’s HUD quickly told him they were still fourteen minutes from the desired drop zone.
Bruno keyed Jorge again “ J Baby you know I love how you fly but we need to exit now” Jorge clicked back “ A little busy here *******, trying to keep these ******* off me, you have green light in three two one go go go” “ Bruno stepped out of the way as the red light went to green “ GREEN LIGHT GO!” one after the other each of the Legionnaires exited the bird, Beowulf jumped with Draco’s unconscious form strapped tandem to his chest and Bruno gave a quick glance across the interior of the aircraft, the sinking feeling that he was about to take part in a serious world of ****. With that last thought Bruno jumped out of the bird, his world consumed by darkness.
One thousand, Two thousand, Three thousand, Four thousand, Five thousand.. Bruno was jerked back as his shoot opened. Looking through his visor Bruno cycled his HUD to thermal and spotted the other Legionnaires descending to earth. Looking below Bruno saw that they were landing in to a large mountain like area. Bruno's comms crackled on the open channel with Beowulf's labored voice "Yo Bruno...I'm drifting off course here *static* lost one of my directional toggles *static* remind me to punch Draco in the head when he wakes up *static* we'll hook up with you boys at rally point Alpha" Bruno hit the ground and his suit's fibro muscles compensated for the impact force, years of training kicked in as he hit his quick release for his chute and ran for the nearest cover. A ground battle was about to take place and Bruno wanted to be ready for it.
Edited by SLxBeowulf, 08 June 2015 - 06:29 AM.
0
